St. James's Palace

The Tudor gatehouse standing in front of you is one of London's most quietly impressive survivors. Built by King Henry VIII in the early 16th century, St. James's Palace began as a private retreat, a place where the king could step away from the intense ceremonial life of the main royal court. Before the palace existed, this same patch of ground held a medieval hospital dedicated to St. James the Less, a minor apostle, which cared for people suffering from leprosy.

For nearly two centuries, this palace was the official home of British monarchs, hosting the royal court and all the political drama that came with it. That changed in 1837, when Queen Victoria, the young queen who would go on to reign for over sixty years, moved the monarchy's official seat to the grander Buckingham Palace nearby.

A devastating fire in 1809 destroyed much of the original structure, but this 16th-century gatehouse made it through. It was later Charles II, a king known for his love of pleasure and restoration, who helped bring the palace back to life after it had been used as military barracks.

Today the palace still hosts royal ceremonies and official events. Essentially, it traded a crown for a calendar, and somehow ended up just as busy.